Creating professional "Movie-Grade" silicone appliances and skin effects using an array of Smooth-On materials.

Roberto Mestroni is Italy’s most innovative make up / skin effects artist. He demonstrated his craft at a recent trade fair in Milano by transforming an 18-year actress into a witch using a variety of Smooth-On materials to create silicone appliances and layered skin effects.

EcoFlex® Platinum Cured Silicone Rubber:
EcoFlex® is an extremely soft, strong and very "stretchy" rubber. It can stretch many times its original size without tearing and will rebound to its original form without distortion.

Skin-Tite® Silicone Adhesive:
Skin-Tite® is a skin safe silicone used to create fast wounds, scars and to adhere skin effect appliances directly to the skin.

A standard bald cap is applied and glued down using Skin-Tite® silicone adhesive.

Liquid makeup is applied to the bald cap to match the models skin tone.

Powder is applied to seal the makeup and give the bald cap a matte appearance.

Next, prosthetic ears made from Dragon Skin® FX-Pro are glued on using Skin-Tite®.

A Dragon Skin® FX-Pro facial prosthetic is checked for size and applied using Skin-Tite® silicone adhesive.

The chin is checked for fit and applied next.

Note, when applying the EcoFlex® neck piece careful attention is given to the positioning and gluing since this prosthetic will need to flex and move with the model more than any other piece.

Roberto and his assistant carefully check all edges for positioning and fit.

Next Skin-tite® is stippled over all appliance seams to feather and blend out the edges and to assure the prosthetics will move with the models expressions without coming loose.

The assistant uses a hair dryer set to low to accelerate drying the Skin-Tite®.

Dragon Skin® FX-Pro moles and warts are added to enhance the realism.

Psycho-Paint® thinned with Novocs® Matte is applied to model by fanning a brush to spatter the paint which creates a natural looking mottled skin texture.

Roberto and his assistant then soften and blend the paint using makeup squares.

Work in progress

Psycho-Paint® thinned with Novocs® Matte is applied using an airbrush to add vericose veins and subtle shading.

Hair is then carefully placed and glued to the models head using Skin-Tite®.

A combination of ''blood red'' Silc-Pig® and Novocs® Gloss is added to Skin-Tite® to create a glossy wet blood effect which is brushed into the pentagram detail highlighting and enhancing its appearance.

The results are astounding. The young woman has been completely transformed.